Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 210: Quick Mind

Gongsun He really didn't want to become the prime minister of the Han Dynasty. If he had the chance to be dismissed from office, he wouldn't be overjoyed, but he wouldn't find it too difficult to accept either.

In the final analysis, he felt that the position of prime minister seemed glorious, but it was too risky. He would rather be a general and fight with Wei Qing or Huo Shan.

Look at Gongsun Ao now. He is so free and easy. Although he still needs to go on expeditions continuously, he has a special status, many titles, and his fiefdom is constantly increasing.

This is truly the best position, with no lack of wealth and glory. Even though there are certain risks, it is far better than the position of prime minister.

As for Gongsun Jingsheng, he is now like an eggplant hit by frost. His greatest reliance is not that he is a minister of the Nine Ministers, but that his father is the prime minister, his aunt is the queen, and his uncle is the general.

But after what happened today, even if the elders still acknowledged him as a junior, they would no longer believe him one by one.

It wasn't just the elders, but also the cousin Crown Prince Liu Ju who sat next to them and said almost nothing. Although he didn't show any disgust on his face, there was still some alienation.

As for my cousin nephew Huo Xian, there is even less to say. It will be almost impossible for us to have any contact with each other in the future.

Wei Zifu asked calmly, "Is your mansion short of money? If copper coins are not enough, I will give you thirty horseshoe gold coins."

Gongsun Jingsheng was even more embarrassed and said hurriedly, "Your Highness, the mansion is not short of money for the time being."

This made everyone else at a loss for words. The Prime Minister's Mansion really had no shortage of money. Gongsun He himself had a fief, not to mention the Prime Minister and the Grand Coachman's salaries were not small either.

But even so, Gongsun Jingsheng was still greedy and would not let go of even the smallest profits, doing some shameful illegal, corrupt and lawless things.

Huo Xian flattered him, "Aunt, there has never been any gold in my house. How about you give it to me? I have never seen horseshoe gold before!"

There were nearly 500 pieces of gold artifacts, weighing almost 120 kilograms, in and out of the tomb of Liu He, Marquis of Haihun. The custom of lavish burials was prevalent in the Western Han Dynasty, and the powerful and wealthy really enjoyed wealth and pleasure.

Sometimes I think that if Huo Shan died, if he was not buried in Maoling Mausoleum, he might have been buried in a seemingly extremely luxurious tomb, which would not be worse than Liu He's tomb.

After all, they were all "marquises". The deposed emperor Liu He was only buried according to the specifications of a marquis. Maybe he was not as rich as Huo Shan.

Wei Zifu glanced at Huo Xian, who was too careless, and said disdainfully, "What use do you have for gold? I spent a lot of money to prepare several cloaks and armor for you."

Huo Xian immediately became excited and said, "Aunt, I want silver armor and a white robe now. This will make me look more handsome. A white horse and a silver spear, this must be the dream lover of the women in Chang'an!"

Everyone is used to the fact that Huo Xian sometimes has unconventional ideas, but no one says anything about it.

Although Huo Shan looked handsome and high-spirited when he was in Chang'an, he had high demands for armor and other things that must be good-looking and handsome.

But on the battlefield, armor and other things require first-class protection, and that's when it's practical. Showing off and so on are not suitable on the battlefield, and he obviously has this sense of propriety.

Wei Zifu looked at Huo Xian and said, "Since everything is fine, you can go back to Jianzhang Palace first. I haven't seen your uncle and his family for a long time. Let's have a good chat."

Huo Xian was speechless. He knew that he was being sent away, but he could only stand up and salute, and then prepare to leave. "Uncle, how about we go to Bowang Garden the day after tomorrow? I'm afraid I won't have time in a few days."

Liu Ju became curious, "Why don't you have time? There's no need to fight this year, and it's also a good time for spring hunting. You should have plenty of time!"

"Get ready to go out for a walk. If I follow His Majesty on a tour again, I will lose my position as the Imperial Chariot Commander." Huo Xian said, "I will definitely be the driver this time!"

Wei Qing was horrified and said quickly, "No, you can't drive the chariot!"

Wei Zifu and others were also panicked. According to the current etiquette, the emperor's carriage was pulled by six horses, which means that Liu Che's carriage was pulled by six horses.

In the middle is the driver holding the reins and driving the carriage. When riding, the venerable one is on the left, and the attendants are on the right, which is called "骖乘". This is different from a war, when the commander is in the middle, the driver is on the left, and the guards are on the right.

Logically speaking, Huo Shan should be the "charioteer", accompanying the venerable and preventing the vehicle from tilting. In the past, this task was done by Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, and now it should be Huo Shan's turn.

"I'll practice. After all, I'm the commander of the imperial carriage!" Huo Xian said confidently, "I'll practice hard and I'll definitely be able to drive well!"

Seeing Huo Xian's confident look, the others became even more frightened. Huo Xian was an excellent rider, but his driving skills were unknown. His position as the commander of the imperial carriage was just a mere formality.

But everyone also understood that if Huo Xian wanted to learn how to drive, someone would naturally teach him. Others might not be qualified to let Huo Xian drive, but the emperor must have the courage to ride in a car driven by Huo Xian.

What is Huo Xian's style?
Everyone had long known that Wei Qing and Gongsun He had both taken Huo Shan to fight in battles before, and they knew that Huo Shan liked to lead his troops ahead whether on the march or in battle.

Even Wei Zifu and Liu Ju knew that Huo Shan only trotted on his horse in Chang'an City, and whipped his horse as soon as he left the city. He was a typical example of a person who was repeatedly impeached for riding a horse!
Huo Xian ran away, and he is having a hard time now, so naturally he won't let others have an easy time either. This is the result of being excluded. He is still a little narrow-minded.

However, some things are indeed true. The emperor will definitely go out on a tour this year, and there will be no reason for Huo Xian to be absent at that time. If he is absent again, it will not be good.

The year before last, Huo Xian ran away in anger before the tour because he was angry with the emperor. Last year, just before the tour, a war suddenly broke out in the Western Regions, and Huo Xian had no choice but to lead the army immediately.

Now that the Western Regions were peaceful and the Huns could not fight, Huo Xian naturally had to accompany Liu Che on his tour and to go to Mount Tai again to perform the "Fengshan" ceremony.

In history, Liu Che performed Fengshan at Mount Tai six times in total. Since the first year of Yuanfeng, Liu Che fell in love with the ceremony of promoting his great talent, strategy, civil and military achievements. Now he is more confident.

This time it is also easy to understand. We just won a victory in the Western Regions, which also expanded the territory by thousands of miles. Naturally, it is worth praising.

There is no need to think about it. It would be strange if he did not go to Fengshan this year. No matter how big the event was, it could not stop the emperor from boasting about his achievements and seeking immortals.

After Huo Xian left, Liu Ju said with some concern, "Mother, I have not heard that father intends to tour. The court has not made any preparations."

The truth is, the news that Huo Xian said was like thunder from a clear sky. Everyone was really not prepared at all, how could they just leave as soon as they said they would. But with Huo Xian's character, such things would not be a joke. Wei Zifu also said worriedly, "Your Majesty has visited many places in recent years. It doesn't matter if it is not made public now. Once it is made public, it will be ready soon."

Liu Ju didn't know what to say. This was the actual situation. Some things had become second nature and everyone was familiar with them. They all knew the whole process once the emperor was going on a tour.

Wei Qing suddenly said, "Xian'er, I'm afraid what you said is what your Majesty wants. If things in Chang'an City are not handled well, your Majesty will definitely not be able to go on tour with peace of mind."

Everyone felt the pressure now, because time was running out. The emperor was supervising many things, even if he did not seem to show up directly.

Gongsun Jingsheng was even more frightened. The crime he committed could be either serious or minor. If it was a lighter crime, he would be dismissed from office. If it was a more serious crime, execution would not be a big problem.

But if you think about it carefully, it is not a big deal. Under normal circumstances, you can redeem your sins in the Han Dynasty. Except for some extremely special crimes, even death penalty can be redeemed, unless you really have no money to redeem yourself.

For example, Sima Qian in history had a chance to be exempted from castration, but he had no money to atone for his sins, so he had to carry it out.

But whether or not one can be allowed to atone for one's sins depends on the emperor's will. Many powerful people in the Han Dynasty have wanted to atone for their sins over the years, but even if they have a lot of gold, silver and jewelry at home, they are useless.

It seemed that Huo Xian didn't need to worry about so many things. He had other more important things to do, such as learning how to drive a chariot.

Driving a horse-drawn carriage is definitely not an easy task. It is a thoroughly technical job that requires careful study.

When Liu Bang was defeated in Pengcheng, Xiahou Ying, the best chariot master of the Han Dynasty, not only saved Liu Bang and Lu Zhi in the face of a crushing defeat, but also brought out Liu Bang's abandoned children, Liu Ying and Princess Lu Yuan.

If his driving skills were not good, then he would be the "God of Driving in Gaoliang River". But to be honest, Zhao Guangyi was injured and could not ride a horse, so he fled south in a donkey cart, not driving the car himself.

A chariot is a chariot, and an ordinary horse-drawn carriage is a carriage. These are two different concepts, but no matter how to say it, it is not easy to control a few horses to pull.

"My Lord, don't be so hasty to whip the carriage!" The driver was terrified. Seeing Huo Xian standing on the carriage and waving the whip, he said anxiously, "My Lord, you must drive the carriage steadily. You can't let it be bumpy!"

Huo Xian said unhappily, "Stable? If it is stable, how can we chase and kill the enemy? Six fine horses, all of them are first-class steeds. This chariot must be able to fly!"

The driver was about to cry. You, the Marquis of Guanjun, also knew that this was a carriage pulled by six horses. This was the emperor's carriage, so of course you wanted to be safe. According to the Marquis of Guanjun's style, this carriage would overturn if it was driven out.

This is by no means alarmist; it is something that is very likely to happen. It seems that this champion marquis will associate everything with war.

Huo Xian was sweating profusely now as he was driving a carriage, which was completely different from riding a horse.

When riding a horse, one needs to consider riding skills, the tacit understanding between the rider and the horse, etc. But when driving a horse-drawn carriage, one needs to consider whether the six horses can walk straight and steady, and whether they can exert force in one direction.

After a busy day of government affairs, Liu Che asked, "Where is the Marquis of Guanjun? My Marquis of Guanjun hasn't come for most of the day. Did he run away again?"

Jin Midi quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Guanjun went to the Pepper Palace this morning, and then the Queen summoned the Crown Prince, the General, the Prime Minister, and the Imperial Household."

Liu Che smiled and looked at Huo Guang proudly, "You have never made any mistakes in the past twenty years. You are cautious and I like you. But if you were even a little bit as clever as Shan'er, you wouldn't be like this!"

Huo Guang was not annoyed by being teased and ridiculed, and immediately said, "I am stupid, how can I compare with the Marquis of Guanjun!"

In fact, many people understand the emperor's character and thoughts, but they usually don't dare to speculate too much, for fear that something might go wrong.

As the emperor's close ministers, if Huo Guang, Jin Midi and others did not have any understanding of the emperor's character, they would not have been able to be members of the "training class for important ministers".

However, these close ministers all knew that apart from the deceased Chuntuo, Huo Xian was the one who understood the emperor's thoughts best.

Liu Che was in a good mood. "Shan'er is smart, the queen is dutiful, and the general is cautious. Shan'er should have come here by now. Why doesn't she come to me to claim credit?"

Everyone else was stunned. In fact, they were used to Huo Shan running to the emperor to take credit for doing little things. They were also used to the emperor being overjoyed and proud of Huo Shan's small progress.

However, the current situation seems to be a bit abnormal. Huo Guang and others have no idea what "merit" Huo Shan has made. However, since the emperor has mentioned merit, Huo Shan should come to claim the credit.

Seeing that Huo Guang and the others were unaware, Liu Che immediately looked at the eunuch, "Where is the Marquis Guanjun? Is there no one to serve him?"

The eunuch hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the prince is in the parade ground. He is driving the carriage and has summoned the Guanglu Xun, the Fuma Duwei, and the Qi Duwei."

The Commandant of Imperial Chariot, the Commandant of Cavalry and the Commandant of the Imperial Concubine's Horse were known as the "Three Commandants". The Commandant of Imperial Chariot was in charge of the imperial carriage; the Commandant of the Imperial Concubine's Horse was in charge of the deputy horses; the Commandant of Cavalry was in charge of the cavalry and served as an attendant on the left and right.

Guanglu Xun was one of the Nine Ministers and was also responsible for the defense of the imperial palace. He and the Weiwei complemented and checked each other.

Liu Che laughed, "Guang Lu Xun, I have to find a good Guang Lu Xun this time! The Jianzhang Weiwei regards Guang Lu Xun as his subordinate, and the Fu Ma Du Wei and Qi Du Wei also have to obey the orders of the Chariot Du Wei. What's the logic!"

No, theoretically it is true, but the least valuable official positions held by Huo Xian were the Commandant of Fengche and the Commandant of Jianzhang Guards, and they have always been honorific positions and seem to be of the same rank.

Huo Guang quickly explained in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Guanjun is the Grand Marshal and the General of the Cavalry. Guanglu Xun and others dare not disrespect him."

Liu Che said to Huo Guang with satisfaction, "You are such a cautious person, and you only dare to be bold when it comes to Xian'er. How about this, you will be Guanglu Dafu, with a rank of 2,000 stones, and be the official in charge of discussion."

This is the advantage of holding great power. There is no resistance to appointing officials, etc.

The next moment, Liu Che became interested, "Let's go and see how my Marquis Guanjun drives the chariot!"

(End of this chapter)